New superschools to open in Blackburn and Darwen

4:23pm Tuesday 4th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Dan Clough, Reporter

The brand new Witton Park High School The brand new Witton Park High School

THREE new schools will open over the coming fortnight as the Building Schools for the Future ‘revolution’ takes off.

Blackburn Central High School, Witton Park High School, also in Blackburn, and Darwen Vale High School, have all been handed over to the council by developers and are ready for the first intake of children.

The builds came as part of the borough’s £210 million overhaul of schools under the last Government’s BSF scheme.

And children will move into Vale on Thursday, with the first children going into Witton Park on Monday and Blackburn Central opening its doors sometime next week.

Coun Maureen Bateson, chief of the council’s young people’s services, masterminded the project from the beginning.

She said: “I have seen it from day one and have been to visit all three schools now they are finished.

“They are absolutely fantastic. They are great places for education.

“There are some excellent facilities, particularly for sport and technology.

“It has been a long journey but the end result is excellent. It was well worth all the effort.”

Coun Bateson said the children should be delighted with the learning facilities they have been given.

She said: “I am quite envious. Overall, the young people of Blackburn and Darwen will have some great places for education.

“Walking through those doors on the first day will be something special.

“All three are very different but when the kids go in they will be very impressed.

“It has been something of a revolution, and not just in the buildings but in the teaching as well.”

Darwen Vale head Fiona Jack said the final preparations were being made ahead of the children starting school on Thursday.

She said: “It is great to be in. We have been ridiculously busy.

“Over the next few days we will be unpacking and training .

“There are a lot of differences for the staff to get used to, but it is all good fun.

“This place is stunning. Some of the landscaping out the back is awesome.”

Mrs Jack said she was delighted to be part of the BSF revolution in Blackburn with Darwen. She said: “It is magnificent and exciting. It is a real challenge.

Blackburn Central High School headteacher Alan Chambers and Witton Park High School headteacher Dean Logan were both unavailable for comment.

Comments(1)

DEO VOLENTE says...
10:42pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Blackburn Central High School will cause no end of traffic congestion. It will also see a rise in litter,unuthorised parking and nusiance for nearby residents. These concerns have of course been raised with the "powers that be" but they have, as usual, been ignored. In addition, in my honestly held opinion, the building itself is a monstrosity. It is a flat roofed, ugly "Red" wart of a structure with no architectural merit whatsoever. The only saving grace is that, given its unsuitable position, it is virtually invisible from the road. Why has this building been constructed? To try to attempt to bring about the "Blackburn Master Plan". That is to attempt to improve social cohesion which is non existant in the town. The next phase of this politically disorientated social engineering experiment will be to level Roman Road estate and build a "mixed" housing development. As for the quote that "the end result is excellent" and that "it was well worth the effort" I suggest we watch this space. It is the case that excellence is via results, that is "Facta non Verba" .

Deus Vobiscum

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